The five signs that your Jellycat is FAKE – and the things to look out for to authenticate a real one

A JELLYCAT superfan has shared the five signs to look out for if you think your plush might be fake. Lizzy is an avid collector of the adorable toys, which feature cute faces on inanimate objects such as vegetables and pastries, and as such knows the warning signs that it might not be an authentic one.

And she took to TikTok to share a video pointing out the signs, in a bid to raise awareness of the growing market of fake toys and dupes. "I actually find it really scary about how similar these are," she said. "It's terrifying!". She went on to compare the sunshine keyring she'd been sent in as an example of a fake, with an authentic heart-shaped keyring.

The first difference was in the tags. On the fake one, there was a larger tag on the back with Chinese writing on it. As well as that, the blue square that goes around the actual 'Jellycat' tag it a lot lighter on the fake than on the real one. Lizzy went on to point out the very slight difference on the label on the toys themselves, as she admitted it's the area you could be "caught out" on.

However, the fake one had a little label with 'Shang' and a load of numbers, while the real one said 'Jelly' and the numbers. But she did say that if the person selling the Jellycat believes it's authentic, then they'll have no qualms about showing you the tag where the numbers are.

The quality of the legs are slightly different, as Lizzy said that the real one has stuffing in the "whole leg as well as the foot", while the fake one didn't. And she added that the "quality of the feet are definitely different as well". The actual chains of the keyrings are "scarily similar" - both are of a similar weight, and both have the same logo, which Lizzy said in her opinion is "identical".

The last difference is between the bags that the Jellycats come in. "This one is genuine, from the Jellycat website, and this one is fake," she said. "The difference is very, very, very light.". THEY were made for kids, but Jellycat toys remain incredibly popular with adults too. So just what is the appeal?.

The London-based company started making toys in 1999, and enjoyed success from the outset thanks to the fabrics used to make their plushies suitable for children of all ages. In recent years, they have branched out from making toys of various animals into turning virtually anything you can think of into a Jellycat.

Their vegetable offerings, which range from broccoli to avocado, can help kids eat their greens. And even their April Fools - a toilet paper toy - was a hit with fans. Jellycat also has numerous celebrity fans, including Princess Charlotte, with a picture released in 2015 showing the royal with her Fuddlewuddle dog.

The hefty price tag of the toys also promote the idea of luxury, and the value of the toys increases over time - meaning they are often a worthwhile investment. Jellycat releases two new collections a year - in January and in the summer, in either June or July.

As she said the only discernable difference on the bag is that the fake one is lighter in colour - on both the bag and the orange drawstrings - while the picture on the front looked the "exact same" on both. Concluding her video, Lizzy said that while the sunshine keyring is "still really cute", she's hoping to stop people being scammed if they're picking up the fakes for £20 on Vinted.

"Wow a fake Jellycat never even crossed my mind!" one person commented on Lizzy's post. "Be careful! Too many floating about," she replied. "Be careful too because there’s fake websites that look identical to the official Jellycat website," another warned.

"Only when you place an order does it then seem odd as it’s then shipped from China.". "Just bought a coffee cup off eBay that’s was advertised as Jellycat," a third said. " It has the cat printed on the top but has zero labels. "Clearly a fake. So annoyed!".